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Flame Mistress: Your ambitions for a mighty dragon or phoenix thoroughly smashed to pieces and buried by the dex, you and Flare decide that having a dark type handy would be rather useful, and with the thought of a Honchkrow or Mandibuzz on your mind, the two of you head into the rocky road. Taking note that both birds are mostly nocturnal, and the likely chance you'll bump into an annoyed Pidgey instead, you shrug before scaling the pathway, seeking some shelter until night came. Hours pass, and after a tiring climb you eventually find a cavern to recuperate in. Taking a breather, you sit down on some nearby boulders while looking out at the scene before you, smiling to yourself as you behold the beauty that lies to your eyes. Hundreds of birds of all shapes and sizes drifting and soaring in the sky, and not a single one of which is the birds you're looking for. As you rub your eyes, Flare gives you a poke to garner your attention as you look to the direction they're pointing in to find yourself face to beak with a rugged Skarmory, the steel type staring at you with some curiosity as you try hard not to scare it and yourself, just before it breaks eye contact to motion you to what lies behind its nest, a continuing tunnel too small for it, and then points a wing outside, as it gives a groggy squawk. The sleepy and rather powerful Armor Bird either wants you to leave via your entrance or to the cave it can't enter, and preferably with some degree of haste before it loses out on beauty sleep.

What will you do?

Just as expected, there were, naturally, no traces of the nocturnal bird Pokémon Charlotte had hoped for in the first place when she first entered the path. It was still in the daytime, after all.*

Then a new thought came across her mind - to find shelter until the night.*

Doing that meant that the two of them would have a better chance of the nocturnal Bird Pokémon they were looking for, and with that they started scaling the rocky road (though Flare had no idea that Charlotte had that idea in her head and stopped to stare in awe at the flocks of birds that flew past them).

After a few hours of climbing, Charlotte and Flare reached a small yet comfortable cavern to stretch their exhausted legs in. Charlotte took a seat on a nearby boulder, and Flare clambered up her knees and settled on Charlotte's laps, and together they looked on at the scenery before them, smiling to themselves dreamily.*

Charlotte looked up into the skies, and saw hundreds, if not maybe even thousands of bird Pokémon of all shapes and sizes soaring and gliding in the air, every one of them dancing dark spots against the darkening sky, but not one of them resembled the Dark/Flying-Type Pokémon Charlotte had been hoping for.*

However, Charlotte was soon interrupted from her thoughts when she found herself face to beak with a rugged-looking Skarmory, who was staring at her with some degree of curiosity. It then squawked, albeit in a groggy way, and pointed her steel-clad wing at the entrance of the cave, ordering them to leave. *

Charlotte turned to look at Flare with a shrug, only to realise that Flare wasn't sitting on her lap anymore, but instead staring at the Skarmory with the exact same curious look that it had looked at Charlotte with. Before she could do anything to stop her, Flare shot out a small ball of fire at the Skarmory with Ember.*

"No!" Charlotte yelled, but it was too late. Charlotte quickly covered her eyes, afraid to look at the (most probably furious) face of the Skarmory. *

Trainer Andy: Unlike others who had wandered into the falls, you came by yourself, your pokemon nestled in their ball for safekeeping while you battled with your navigation skills and your map. After a short time, you pinpoint your general position as being in Magus Falls, a renowned spot where pokemon flock in numbers for the freshwater lake as well as trainers who enjoy a good picnic. Taking a breather, you study the map closer to try and find whereabouts in the falls you are when a bark from behind you disrupts your concentration and balance resulting in your being in a messy pile. Disgruntled, you turn towards the culprit, which turns out to be a small puppy with brown fur and a hairy tan face, the Lillipup amused by your shenanigans as you get onto your feet and realise to your horror the map's damaged! Giving another yip, the hound beckons towards you playfully as though urging you to give chase.

What will you do?

Picking himself up, and dusting himself off, Andy looked at the Puppy Pokemon, then at his tattered map, then back at the Pokemon again. For a moment he felt a pang of annoyance, but it soon passed. Slowly he sighed, and picked up the remains of the map.

"Oh well, i'm sure even with that thing i'd still ending getting lost anyway," He mused, to himself. He knelt to the ground, bringing himself closer to the Lillipup's eye level. He found that the mischievous look he was being given was hard not to smile back at. "Might as well have some fun doing it."

"So, you want me to follow you or something?" He asked. It wasn't something he'd normally do, but he found this particular Pokemon quite endearing. It probably had something to do with the fact that he just wanted to reach out and smoosh that small, furry face.

Pulling himself back to a stand, his smile grew wider. With a renewed energy and sense of excitement, he heading off after the Lillipup.

-Magus Falls-InnerFlame: As you walk along the scenic route beside the falls with Charm by your side, your mind wanders as to how humans would desecrate the beauty of such a sanctuary of peace for their living needs, the sounds of the land giving you an air of peace as you enjoy the experience. Following the path, the two of you eventually come across a small natural clearing, the result of a few fallen trees which on inspection may have been struck by lightning, however rare storms were here. Taking a rest on one of the logs, you and Charm notice the wild pokemon in the vicinity, a few birds chirping in conversation in one of the trees, a pair of Pikachu playing with a Plusle and Minun, a few Nidoran feeding on berries while their Nidoking parent watches them while keeping an ear on you warily, and one lurking Metagross slap bang in the middle of some bushes keeping a focus on the parent. Hang on...

"GROOOOOOOOOH!!!"

The metallic cry of the out of place Iron Leg pokemon scatters the nesting birds and mice, causing the Nidoran to suddenly panic as the Nidoking tries desperately to calm them down as they scarper into the shrubbery. Taking the hint, you and Charm immediately cower behind the log you're on as you peer over, terrified as the mechanical monstrosity hammers towards the Nidoking, its iron cross aglow in cyan energy as the heavyweight builds up momentum before smashing into the off-guard poison type with a devastating zen headbutt, the roar of pain escaping the gentle giant's lungs coming at the same time as the blood that emerged from the impact of the half-ton terror, the ground type immediately crumpling in great pain and gasping desperately as the steel type lumbers back a few steps, crimson eyes aglow with energy as it begins to levitate and bolts sharply round to your position as you cower behind the log, desperately petrified for your life as you and Charm remain silent. After a few tense seconds which seem like hours, the mechanical grunt and rustling of leaves with breaking branches gives you the cue that the Metagross has left, and as you fearfully peek over the log once more, you find the clearing once more calm, only this time the silence is grave with only the wheezing of the wounded Nidoking the sound to your ears.

What will you do?

Inner was enjoying the atmosphere of the untouched forest when her path leads her to a small clearing. A few trees that seem to have been knocked down by lightning strike caught her attention for a moment. Her and Charm decided to take a break and took a seat upon one of the logs. Wild pokemon appeared around, not overly wary of the appearance of human and her pokemon that arrive. Two Pikachu along with a Plusle and Minun were happily playing; a small group of Nidoran under the watchful eyes of its parent ate berries. The Nidoking seem cautious of Inner so she decided it was best to keep her distance. A suddenly light hit her eyes just before it happened.

“GROOOOOOOOOH!!!”

An unnatural metallic cry screeched out and Inner’s eyes turned to see a Metagross. A metal-type pokemon out in the middle of the forest was an odd sight not just for her. The bird stood flight, the mice pokemon scattered about in fear and the little Nidoran when into in a panic state. The sudden urgency made the Charmander and the girl duck down behind the log; Charm was a fire-type but that pokemon was way out of her league even with the type advantage. The pokemon took sight on the Nidoking and struck it hard. The poison type painful roars screamed out and blood spurted. Inner was frozen with fear, cowering as the metal pokemon came closer. She held the fire lizard close..... The pokemon seem to have left and the quiet calmness returned and in the area all remain was the injured Nidoking.

Inner didn’t know what to do, but she knew she couldn’t just leave him how he was. She had some potions but she doubted it would help too greatly. Even using all five of them seem unhelpful in the long run. She thought about storing him in a pokeball and rushing large creature to a pokemon center but she was quite deep in this forest and what about the pokemon’s children. She decided even if it was small, it would probably be better than doing nothing at all. She removed her potion from her bag and slowly began to approach putting her hand in a passive not wanting to fight position up by her head. Charm worriedly followed behind her trainer. He aggressively glared at her an understandable reaction having such a terrible wound.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Inner strongly comfirmed that hoping this would get the pokemon to trust her a bit. “I’m just going to use this potion to help with your wound, okay?” The compassion in her voice was all she had to try to get the pokemon to understand her intentions. Charm also spoke to the pokemon trying to convince the Nidoking that they met no harm. All they could really do was pray the pokemon believed their caring gesture.

Let's eat Grandma!
Let's eat, Grandma!
Commas saves lives.

Say hello to Rascal, he is a naughty little Articuno but he wants to be a true adventurer one day. Feed him lots of spicy berries and help him grow big and stronger.

During tests people look:
Up for inspiration
Down in desperation
Left and right for information

Named after the odd shape of the mountain which from a distance resembles an eagle's head, Mt.Eyrie was feared by many ancient tribes who once dwelled in the forest. Because no humans ever set foot upon the mountain, Eyrie Peak has become a haven for bird Pokémon who have made it their nesting ground. Because of this, the recent influx of tourists in the vicinity have their sights set upon this area, specifically in the hope of finding some of the rarer Pokémon in the land. Be warned, the Pokémon nesting here are likely to be fierce and will protect their babies at all costs.

Posy Field: An area of mountainside filled with many apricorn trees, berry plants, rare herbs and flowers. The strong scents have attracted many bug Pokémon who like to feed on the vast range of delicious nectars in the vicinity.

"Isn't this a beautiful sight Cyndaquil?" Chad asked his friend. "I think I've earned myself a little rest. That field over there looks inviting." Chad looked over towards the field he spotted. Chad now looked over his shoulder at Cyndaquil, who was perched on his backback with his two front paws on his shoulder now that Chad had finished climbing for the time being. "Well, you like?" he asked.

"Cynda!" squeaked Cyndaquil, and he pointed with his paw. Cyndaquil jumped off Chad's shoulder, and started walking over to the field.

Chad followed his little friend. He sniffed the air, and as he moved closer to a clearing in the field, the scents of berries and flowers got stronger and more pleasant. "Wow. It smells so wonderful here." Chad took a deep breath now. The mountain air mixed with the welcoming scents made him smile. He took his backpack off and layed it on the ground, and he too sat down on the soft green grass. "This air alone makes this trip worth it."

Chad looked around. There was a small grove of trees, growing what appeared to be apricorns. At the base of some of those trees were some berry bushes. He panned around. There were some more berry bushes and also bunches of flowers scattered about. "Cyndaquil! Where'd you run off to?" Chad looked around for his fiery friend.

"Quil?" Cyndaquil sounded a little annoyed as he popped his head out of a bush.

"Calm down," Chad chuckled as he answered his Pokemon. "I was just making sure you weren't off causing any trouble," Chad said yawning. "I think this is a great spot. If you want to relax over there just don't light your flame. We wouldn't want to set the field on fire." Chad layed back resting his head on his backpack. He turned his head towards the trees again. "I wonder if any of these apricorns are ready to be picked." Chad looked back up towards the sky. He watched the clouds floating by, and he began to get drowsy.

-Adventure Path-Myahoo: Taking a road travelled less, you and Wildfire venture into Eyrie Peak, the crest of the mountain shrouded by the clouds but giving you a vague outline of the eagle-like peak. However, as much as you'd love to see Astoria from the top of the world, you instead decided to stick further down the mountain, along the rocky path spiralling around it with the hopes of finding a feathered friend or two. Inhaling the fresh air, you and your Cyndaquil trudge up the path, admiring the flutter of wings above you as birds of all feathers flit about their business while some of the larger avians give a majestic crow before taking flight. Such is your enamourment with the birds that you fail to notice the path before you taking a sudden turn to the left, just as your foot connects with thin air. Giving a squeak, Wildfire desperately but vainly tries to pull you back as you and the fire type tumble over the edge and roll painfully down the rough cliff before coming to a sudden stop, a sharp burning sensation in your leg causing you to cry out. Looking painfully down, you find your leg a sickly blue at the shin and a constant throbbing ache around it, just as you look towards the rock that stopped you in your tracks.

A nuzzle by your side by your worried starter directs you towards a rather sizable branch jutting out of the rocks, but a glance before it reveals a steeper cliff and ledge leading above said cliff to the branch. With your movement all but negated by the possible fracture, and with your Cyndaquil by your side, your plan of action is forced as you spot some dark clouds brewing overhead, signifying a storm incoming...

What will you do?

The pair strolled contently, following the winding rocky path around the mountain. As they walked, Melissa tilted her head back every time she heard the flutter of wings, grinning widely to see the bird Pokemon take flight. When squawks and caws sounded, she turned to see what sort of Pokemon had made the noise. Every time her attention was caught by some other outburst or sound, she wondered whether she would be lucky enough to get a Pokemon like that; it would be amazing if she could.

"It would be so cool if we caught one of those Pokemon, right, Wildfire?" she said happily, never taking her eyes off one of the birds about to take flight. The Cyndaquil had actually been watching the path ahead of them from where he sat on her shoulder, slightly worried that his trainer wasn't paying any attention to the road. And it was probably just an unlucky coincidence that had him glancing up to see the Pokemon Melissa was eying at the same moment she took that step into thin air.

Melissa gave a startled yelp when her foot suddenly met nothing, while the Cydnaquil tried vainly to lean back to get her to fall backwards onto the safety of the road, but they fell forward to tumble roughly down the slope.

Sky, dirt, sky, dirt, Wildfire!, dirt, sky, dirt, oomph!

The girl lay winded where they'd stopped, everywhere feeling a little bruised, and just concentrated on breathing. Wildfire had landed on his belly on her chest and scrambled off pretty quickly. Both of them glanced up towards the path they'd fallen off of and Melissa grimaced. "I guess we won't be getting back that way," she murmured, glancing over herself and immediately spotting the blue spot on her leg.

Cautiously, she reached over the feel the spot and yelped again at the jolts of pain suddenly shooting up her leg. "Owowowowow. Okay, not a good idea," she breathed, pain lacing her voice. A nuzzle in her side had her glancing at her Cyndaquil, who pointed out a branch that would probably help, if she could get to it. "I don't know if I can get there with my leg the way it is, though," she told him, as she bent her knee.

Using the rock that had stopped her tumble as a crutch, she pulled herself to her feet, making sure to keep all weight off of her injured leg. Slowly, she tried to shift her weight onto her leg, only to immediately shift all weight back. It didn't feel like it would hold and she wasn't going to risk it getting any worse than it already was. A glance toward the sky to check how much daylight they had left showed the coming storm and that wouldn't help her situation at all.

Melissa threw a scowl at the approaching clouds and started looking around for somewhere to hide during the storm. "Hey, Wildfire, if you see anywhere we can hide in for the storm, tell me, alright?" she informed him, while her own eyes raked the side of the cliff. Maybe she'd be able to find some cave or something to wait the storm out, if she was lucky. If not, well, they still had a bit of time.

Once home to many ancient Astorian clans, its amazing structures have now been completely overrun by thick jungle foliage. Normally a very peaceful place where grass, bug and flying Pokémon thrive, the magical temples of the old kingdom have brought upon strange occurrences to those passing through. Should you find yourself in the incredibly fruitful rainforest, who knows what you may encounter.

"C'mon, Nav!" TA called to his Treecko as he stepped into the thick jungle. The Tree Gecko Pokémon walked up beside him. The two of them were ecstatic at the thought of their first adventure. "Maybe we'll even catch you a friend!"

"Treecko!" Nav answered excitedly. Looking around, TA didn't see any Pokémon, but remained hopeful. He had heard about this place, and couldn't wait to see if the rumors about rare Pokémon were true. Continuing to glance around the forest, he heard nothing but the far off cries of flying types, but saw nothing of interest.

"Maybe there's something off the path a bit," TA reasoned. "I guess wild Pokémon wouldn't be hanging around where lots of people are. What do you think, Nav?"

"Tree!" The Pokémon said, nodding.

"Alright then," TA said, looking off into the woods. "We'll look farther in then." His Treecko in tow, he pushed his way into the undergrowth. As he did this, he smiled at his starter. "This'll be great!" he said.

The Enchanted Forest is rumoured to be home to some of the most ancient tribes in the land. These tribes have shunned modern society and adapted to the forest so well they've become a part of it, blending into the woods with chameleon-like ease making themselves nigh on impossible to find. There are some who will pay good money for guides to lead them deep into unexplored land, however, as rumours spread of these tribes having access to ancient riches, miracle medicines, and extremely rare Pokémon. Most are simply curious, however, wondering what it must be like to live in seclusion, so explore the forest in the hope of stumbling upon one of these ancient tribesmen.

The Wicca: A nature-loving peaceful people who worship Pokémon, the Wicca would never dream of using Pokémon to battle. An encounter with this tribe could prove to be the best or worst experience of your life depending, of course, upon your views of their beliefs.

She'd been walking a while, and suddenly, Ellen stopped and decided to rest. Her rucksack dropped off her back and landed on the ground with a dull thump, and, after pulling a sandwich and cold waterbottle out of it, she sat on top of it, not wanting to get her shorts dirty on the leafy forest floor.

As she chewed, she pondered on how exactly she'd gotten here. She was currently studying at Hoenn University, and the research task assigned to her by her proffessor was to conduct a study on a tribe of her choice; their cultures and values. Originally, she had not intended to conduct her study here: this was just a stopover point to the northen glacial region where the famous Incagamo tribe resided. But, then, on her first evening here, she overheard a conversation of the numerous tribes that existed in the Forest and the legends surrounding them. What interested her in particular was the Wicca Tribe: she had never encountered people who did not use Pokemon for battle; not only that, but they thought of the act as a sin! She'd spent the next 2 days talking to locals, guides, professors and temporary archaeologists residing in the area about the Wicca tribe, and ultimately decided that their culture, beliefs and values were so different that they would make the ideal topic for the disseration. Not only that, but this region was virtually unstudied in the academic world, and nothing at all was written about the tribes: usually, any research was done on the qualities of the forest and enviornment, which had remained surpisingly pure in a world that was becoming increasingly polluted. To think she would be the first to study these tribes up close!

But of course, she'd have to find them first. They were rumoured to exist in the western area of the forest - so, once she'd arrived at the entrance, she quickly strayed from the well-beaten path, despite the fact that the guide and local inhabitants of the region had seriously warned against it. Stories existed of other tribes that also resided in the forest, that took much less kindly to visitors: in particular the Cymerian Fortress, which killed anybody that came close to the area. These rumours, and the fact that some people who had ventured on a similar quest as her had never returned, worried her somewhat; but, she took comfort in the fact that she had her pokemon with her, who, she reasoned, would do their utmost to protect her should any danger present itself.

The sun beat down on the forest. The canopy blocked the light but not the heat, which became trapped once it entered the forest. As a result, it was extremely hot and humid, and Ellen felt sticky and uncomfortable. She'd already stripped down to the bare minimum; shorts and a strappy top; although, she felt uncomfortable doing this, as she was unsure whether it would be disrespectful to meet a member of a native tribe dressed in so little. Mangrove didn't seem to mind the heat, nor the amount of time this was taking: for her, this was heaven; the leaf pokemon snuck bites of tasty jungle leaves and juicy bugs that she saw as they plodded along.

10 minutes later, and Ellen got up to get going again. She wanted to make the most of the daylight: as soon as evening hit, she knew that it would get dark quickly. Since she didn't know how long it would take to find them, she assumed she would be camping in the forest, and as a result, she'd bought along her tent: Mangrove had agreed to carry this on her back for now because Ellen was too tired. "Mangrove," She turned to her pokemon, who had been grazing on juicy-looking bushes, "We're going to get going now. Keep looking out for any signs of life, okay?" The pokemon nodded and bounded over to her trainer, full of energy and excitement. Once again, they set off.

The Island of Astoria contains several areas of interest. Some are more difficult to find than others, but all are worth taking the time to explore - except, perhaps, for the Dead Forest, but even this area contains a perk or two if you're game enough to poke around. Regardless of the area in which you choose to travel, chances are you'll come across one of the many mysterious sites on the island. Whether or not you're a believer in witchcraft, wizardry, voodoo, and magical spells, the mysterious wonders found on this island will surely test your beliefs.

The Lakes: Many freshwater lakes are scattered around the island, providing essential drinking water. Wild Pokémon encounters are higher near one of the lakes than anywhere else in Astoria.

"I finally made it! Uh... where am I?" Niles asked himself, as he let Zoomer out of his Pokeball. His heart was pounding and his throat hurt from running. Niles looked around, he was right next to a big lake, surrounded by trees. Zoomer saw Nile's look of confusion and gained some anxiety, Zoomer knew how easy it was for him to do careless things. In fact Niles had been very careless this time.

After much begging Niles had convinced his parents to let him go on an adventure. This was a very hard thing for them to let him do due to his lack of responsibility. They had arranged for Niles to go with a tour group where he would be constantly supervised by the tour guides. Unfortunately as soon as they had docked at the port Niles saw the forests off in the distance and he just started running. He was always so excited to go off on adventures, and his eagerness had taken over him. Before anyone in the tour group noticed that he had left, he was already halfway through the town. After that he didn't really pay much attention to what was going on and was just full of adrenaline, so he just kept running.

After a few seconds of taking in the scenery Niles bent to his knees. He had just realized how exhausted he was. How long had he been running for? Niles slowly walked over to the lakeside. He knelt beside the water and cupped his hands into the water to take a drink.

-Diamond Lake-Meetan: Heading into the fields beside the scenic Diamond Lake, you and Swinub had your initial goal in mind, or at least you did. While your less than stellar preparations beforehand left you a little understocked, you still had a degree of bubbly intrigue for the journey you would be undertaking, while it seemed your porcine starter was concerned about finding some dinner, preferably along the lines of a few berries or worms. Darting off into the bushes, you give her a call to be careful before drinking from your bottle, the water within quenching your thirst as you gaze out towards the lake surface, the clear mirror-like image in the sunlight creating small sparkles much like the lake was composed of diamond, giving it the name. Taking in the beauty of it, you opt to have a little seat before heading further along, Swinub returning from nosing around chewing on a small apple, slightly rotten. While to you it was perhaps unpalatable, to a forager like Swinub it would make a good snack and as she begins to ham into it, a ripple in the water catches your lazy eye.

Focusing on the ripple, you find it to be a simple bug skating along the surface, and as the Surskit gets closer to shore it is only then that you notice the looming shadow above, followed by a mighty screech as the Swellow circles overhead, eyeing up the pond skater as you catch the exasperated look in its eye and realise the bug may be in more danger than expected...

What will you do?

Alice watched her Swinub, casually commenting on how she couldn't understand the thing's appetite for rotten food, but that it worked for her. She giggled over its cuteness as he munched away, but soon her attention was drawn to a skittish thing that glided across the water's surface, and the arachnophobe was suddenly quite rigid. Did Surskits count as spiders? They only had four legs, but they resembled them, and they were part bug at the very least. They were sort of cute, too, but they were spidery little buggers. As the Pokemon grew closer to the grass she moved back a great distance, but this only shifted her attention to the Swellow, whole body jumping at its battle cry.

"Oh my gosh - Swinub!" The teenager called out, looking up. Her many years at a Pokemon Academy as both student and teaching assistant meant she knew what a Swellow was, but the girl withdrew her Pokedex nonetheless, listening to the brief explanation it offered her and clutching tight. The prey had her shaking, but that didn't stop her deciding that this was good practice and that it needed rescuing. "That Swellow's going to eat it - we need to take it down!" She called, and just as her partner finished starters, he looked up, responding with a strong "Swine!"

"Okay, let's lock on with Odor Sleuth and then follow up with Icy Wind! We have a type advantage!" The new trainer called out, pointing to the evolved bird with her free hand, watching as her Swinub initiated the fight.

The Enchanted Forest is a special place of magic and mystery. It is said this island was created by witches many centuries ago and that powerful magic still emanates from deep within the island itself. Stories abound of a race of magical beings who lived in harmony for many centuries before a great war erupted between good and evil forces which eventuated in the almost complete annihilation of all life in the vicinity. Those who survived are said to have exhausted the remainder of their magic casting regenerative spells upon the land before leaving Astoria to allow the island to rejuvenate itself. Now, centuries later, life has returned to the island. All but one area has flourished, Pokémon have returned, and humans have once again set foot upon its shores. The amazing regenerative powers of this island have led many an adventurer to enter the forest in hopes of unlocking the mysteries within, but few have ever returned. What has become of them is anyone's guess, but of those who have come back all appear to have sworn some kind of secret oath to never reveal anything of what they have learned. This air of secrecy has only served to make people more curious, however, and as a result tourism has flourished in recent years. People are now arriving by the dozen on a daily basis to inject this once tranquil forest with new and vibrant life. Whether the forest is welcoming of this change is another matter, though time will surely tell...

The Island

The Island of Astoria contains several areas of interest. Some are more difficult to find than others, but all are worth taking the time to explore - except, perhaps, for the Dead Forest, but even this area contains a perk or two if you're game enough to poke around. Regardless of the area in which you choose to travel, chances are you'll come across one of the many mysterious sites on the island. Whether or not you're a believer in witchcraft, wizardry, voodoo, and magical spells, the mysterious wonders found on this island will surely test your beliefs.

Island Ports: Several bustling ports have sprouted up in Astoria. The more popular the island becomes, the more entry points are needed which has done wonders for the tourism industry. Currently there are seven ports, two in the north of the land, as well as one each in the south, east, north-east, south-east, and north-west. Each location offers a bar or hotel where you may lodge for the night before venturing off into the unknown wilderness.

{Yosh! My character's first adventure! Just FYI, some of this first post will have already been done in the shops, and my stats will reflect that; I'm simply RPing it to help introduce my character. So, with that in mind...

Adventure #1... START!}

Astoria. A land with a rumored wealth of magic and mystery, many come here to discover some great secret hidden in the depths of this forested island.

For Hyrem, however, it is simply the setting for the very beginning of his adventure. He took a ferry here, not knowing what the island would be like or even what his first Pokemon was. His father, a retired Pokemon Trainer, simply handed him a Pokeball and a Backpack and told him not to open any of it until he got off the ferry.

Now, as he disembarked from the ferry and set foot on the port located on the east coast of Astoria, he could wait no longer. He found himself the closest empty bench and sat himself down. His Pokeball was attached to his belt, but before he opened it he decided to go through his backpack and see what was inside it first.

That's when he discovered the note his father had stashed inside. The note basically explained to him each of the items in his backpack, including the Pokemon Index, or Pokedex for short, a Coin Case to store money, etc. Also on the note, he was instructed to give his new friend a piece of candy and a spoon, twisted at the handle and at the neck, because they would help him create the essential bond with his Pokemon.

Well, Hyrem thought, it's time! He grabbed the Pokeball from his belt, expanded it, and pressed the button to open it. A flash of white light appeared, jumped right next to him on the bench, and eventually became a small white body with a green cover and red horns on its head. Hyrem chuckled, "You're kinda cute! Now, what kind of Pokemon are you?" He opened up the Pokedex in front of the little Pokemon, and it replied:

Ralts, the Feeling Pokemon. The horns on its head provide a strong power that enables it to sense people's emotions. If the horns capture the warm feelings of people or Pokémon, its body warms up slightly.

"Ralts, huh? Well hi there!" Hyrem did as much as he could to convey positive emotions to the Pokemon next to him, and it responded by looking up to him and said, "Ra?" sounding inquisitive.

Hyrem responded by saying, "It's all right, come closer!" The Feeling Pokemon inched closer and closer to him until it was finally on his lap. Then it looked straight at him, smiled, and said with a soft voice, "Ralts!"

Hyrem chuckled again and said, "Well, I'm Hyrem; nice to meet you! I think we'll be great friends!"

"Ralts!" came the reply as she transmitted a warm color into his mind.

"I'm glad you think that way too! Say, I've got some things for you..." Hyrem unwrapped the Rare Candy and handed it to Ralts. "Here, eat this!"

Ralts took the candy into her hands and took a small bite of it. She smiled as she ate the rest of the candy. Within a couple of minutes, she was done with the candy, and Hyrem took that as a cue to present her with the Twistedspoon. Ralts took the spoon and smiled again as she started twisting the spoon back the other way.

"Wow, that was Confusion just now, wasn't it?"

"Ralts!"

"Haha, I'm liking you already! The fact that you're so cute helps a lot!" And with that, Hyrem was finally ready to begin. Now, no matter what could possibly come his way, he knew he had a reliable partner to count on. Hyrem took Ralts into his arms, repacked his bag, and started to explore the town.

The Divine Woodland makes up a good 90% of the Enchanted Forest. Normally a very peaceful place where grass, bug and flying Pokémon thrive, the recent boom in tourism has caused the Pokémon who live here to be more cautious of the humans who have begun to invade their natural habitat. There are rumours of strange and magical happenings in this forest and on special nights, under the light of the full moon, who knows what you may encounter...

Areas:Diamond Lake: The largest freshwater lake in the region, Diamond Lake has become a hotspot for those who enjoy water sports. Take a ferry ride, hire a canoe or jet ski, or enjoy a picnic on the shore. A great place for everyone, including families, you're sure to find something to keep you occupied.

Magus Falls: A lush green area with a large waterfall that overlooks much of the Divine Woodland. You may try riding the rapids to reach the river below but most choose to take the safer option of strolling along one of the forest trails. Very scenic, your chances of running into wild Pokémon here are high as they flock to the area for access to the nearby freshwater lake. A nice spot for a picnic, or just to pass some time.

Celebi's Shrine: A shrine dedicated to the Legendary Pokémon, Celebi. Under the right conditions, you may be lucky enough to be granted a quest.

The Labyrinth: Spreading across the boundary of the Divine Woodland and the Dead Forest, the Labyrinth covers approximately 20 hectares of land and is home to some of the most powerful Pokémon in the land. It is recommended you steer clear of the dark side of the Labyrinth at all costs.

Elliot stretched his arms towards the sun as he welcomed the new day with a yawn. Accompanied by an apathetic-looking sneasel, the boy was ready and eager to start his adventures. He had a folded-up map in the pocket of his black shorts, but was unable to decide where to venture first so resigned it to being something to use 'in case I get lost' and put one foot in front of another. Elliot wanted to avoid the tourists and have a real adventure, after all, so what good was a map and a guide?

Without even trying, he found himself in the midst of a woodland paved by footpaths and trails. The sound of water gushing quickly downstream close by flooded his ears. Elliot stepped cautiously over a thorny-looking bush, careful not to prick his bare legs on the nettles, and peered downwards. Cool mist from the fast-flowing river dampened his face and blurred his vision through his glasses. It seemed like a good spot for an adventure, but Elliot retreated slightly. Maybe diving into some unknown rapids wouldn't be the best start, he reconsidered.

Stepping back over the bushes, he turned around only to find that Sneasel was not waiting patiently for him. Of course - what did the boy expect?! He started to panic, his heartbeat increasing. His floppy hair stuck to his forehead from a mixture of humidity, water and sweat. "Sneasel?" he called out, a little uneasily, now scanning the immediate area for the dark-type.

A fast flicker of red in the corner of his eye made him stop and freeze. "Sneasel?!" he repeated, a little louder and sterner, making every effort not to move a muscle.

The Enchanted Forest is a special place of magic and mystery. It is said this island was created by witches many centuries ago and that powerful magic still emanates from deep within the island itself. Stories abound of a race of magical beings who lived in harmony for many centuries before a great war erupted between good and evil forces which eventuated in the almost complete annihilation of all life in the vicinity. Those who survived are said to have exhausted the remainder of their magic casting regenerative spells upon the land before leaving Astoria to allow the island to rejuvenate itself. Now, centuries later, life has returned to the island. All but one area has flourished, Pokémon have returned, and humans have once again set foot upon its shores. The amazing regenerative powers of this island have led many an adventurer to enter the forest in hopes of unlocking the mysteries within, but few have ever returned. What has become of them is anyone's guess, but of those who have come back all appear to have sworn some kind of secret oath to never reveal anything of what they have learned. This air of secrecy has only served to make people more curious, however, and as a result tourism has flourished in recent years. People are now arriving by the dozen on a daily basis to inject this once tranquil forest with new and vibrant life. Whether the forest is welcoming of this change is another matter, though time will surely tell...

The Divine Woodland

The Divine Woodland makes up a good 90% of the Enchanted Forest. Normally a very peaceful place where grass, bug and flying Pokémon thrive, the recent boom in tourism has caused the Pokémon who live here to be more cautious of the humans who have begun to invade their natural habitat. There are rumours of strange and magical happenings in this forest and on special nights, under the light of the full moon, who knows what you may encounter...

Areas:Magus Falls: A lush green area with a large waterfall that overlooks much of the Divine Woodland. You may try riding the rapids to reach the river below but most choose to take the safer option of strolling along one of the forest trails. Very scenic, your chances of running into wild Pokémon here are high as they flock to the area for access to the nearby freshwater lake. A nice spot for a picnic, or just to pass some time.

From far away, the moans of a kid echoes throughout the forest.

"Yow! Owww! Be more gentle will you? This isn't helping!"

The Ralts stares at its trainer as it's bandaging up some of the boy's wounds. "You know it wouldn't hurt as much if you would just stop moving! Damn it!"

Just then, a blue aura envelopes Rey as he suddenly turns stiff as a rock. "Now, if you won't hold still, I'll do it for you. You're not the only getting hurt you know. I'm linked to your emotions, remember? Besides, it's not my fault that you're so clumsy. Now sit still as I-"

"YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWCHHHHH!!!!!!!"

"Don't be such a cry baby. It feels better now doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. Thanks partner... Now shall we continue our adventure?"

Rey limps the toward a waterfall with a great site as his friend follows him. It seems they're here for a nice picnic, with some adventure of course, involving some training and hopefully some delightful encounters with this place's wildlife.

"Wow! All that walking sure payed off, I can't wait to eat later at lunch! This place looks so awesome! It's just how I imagined it! The bird Pokemon chirping, the water flowing, the wind blowing, what a wonderful and peaceful day. This scenery makes it even more inspiring. How about some training to get our appetites going?"

The Enchanted Forest is a special place of magic and mystery. It is said this island was created by witches many centuries ago and that powerful magic still emanates from deep within the island itself. Stories abound of a race of magical beings who lived in harmony for many centuries before a great war erupted between good and evil forces which eventuated in the almost complete annihilation of all life in the vicinity. Those who survived are said to have exhausted the remainder of their magic casting regenerative spells upon the land before leaving Astoria to allow the island to rejuvenate itself. Now, centuries later, life has returned to the island. All but one area has flourished, Pokémon have returned, and humans have once again set foot upon its shores. The amazing regenerative powers of this island have led many an adventurer to enter the forest in hopes of unlocking the mysteries within, but few have ever returned. What has become of them is anyone's guess, but of those who have come back all appear to have sworn some kind of secret oath to never reveal anything of what they have learned. This air of secrecy has only served to make people more curious, however, and as a result tourism has flourished in recent years. People are now arriving by the dozen on a daily basis to inject this once tranquil forest with new and vibrant life. Whether the forest is welcoming of this change is another matter, though time will surely tell...

Eyrie Peak

Named after the odd shape of the mountain which from a distance resembles an eagle's head, Mt.Eyrie was feared by many ancient tribes who once dwelled in the forest. Because no humans ever set foot upon the mountain, Eyrie Peak has become a haven for bird Pokémon who have made it their nesting ground. Because of this, the recent influx of tourists in the vicinity have their sights set upon this area, specifically in the hope of finding some of the rarer Pokémon in the land. Be warned, the Pokémon nesting here are likely to be fierce and will protect their babies at all costs.

Areas:Adventure Path: Bustling with bird’s nests, this long and jagged path seems to spiral up and around the mountain leading to Eyrie Peak. Several caverns cluster the trail, all inhabited by flying types.

"Well, this place isn't as bad as I thought." Cele said to himself, as the mountain placed itself before him and the shadow formed by Eyrie Peak loomed before him. He decided to let some of his team feel the fresh air and beautiful scenery. He quickly grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and enlarged it with the ever so familiar clicking noise and let the Pokemon held inside free. From the flash of white light, a small, gray quadruped Pokemon emerged, shaking off the stiffness from such a confined space. Valerius jumped into Cele's arms, licking his face affectionately. "Hey, Val. Enjoying the place?" Cele asked her. "Lots of space for you to run around." She licked him again appreciatively, then jumped out Cele's arms running around like an energetic little puppy, because she was. Cele laughed a bit, as Valerius tripped over a rock, then unleashed her Swift move on it. "Okay, Val, play time's over let's get going." Cele siad, getting up. "Let's make our way up the mountain. Hopefully, we'll find some low-levelled wild Pokemon to train on, since your low-levelled to. And with that Cele and Valerius made their way up Mt. Eyrie, awaiting the adventure that was held in store for them.

The Enchanted Forest is a special place of magic and mystery. It is said this island was created by witches many centuries ago and that powerful magic still emanates from deep within the island itself. Stories abound of a race of magical beings who lived in harmony for many centuries before a great war erupted between good and evil forces which eventuated in the almost complete annihilation of all life in the vicinity. Those who survived are said to have exhausted the remainder of their magic casting regenerative spells upon the land before leaving Astoria to allow the island to rejuvenate itself. Now, centuries later, life has returned to the island. All but one area has flourished, Pokémon have returned, and humans have once again set foot upon its shores. The amazing regenerative powers of this island have led many an adventurer to enter the forest in hopes of unlocking the mysteries within, but few have ever returned. What has become of them is anyone's guess, but of those who have come back all appear to have sworn some kind of secret oath to never reveal anything of what they have learned. This air of secrecy has only served to make people more curious, however, and as a result tourism has flourished in recent years. People are now arriving by the dozen on a daily basis to inject this once tranquil forest with new and vibrant life. Whether the forest is welcoming of this change is another matter, though time will surely tell...

Garden of Iris

[size=1]This large garden floats high above the rest of the Enchanted Forest. The ground is made up entirely of clouds which magically both supports any amount of weight and can grow many beautiful flowers and trees. It is hidden from view so it is mostly untouched by man. The only way to reach it is to climb up an elusive rainbow that stretches from the ground to the clouds.

Areas:Rainbow Pool: An enchanted pool where no matter what the weather, a beautiful rainbow is always present. Trainers and Pokémon alike visit this pool believing that to drink its water brings good luck.

Frinth Finally arrives at the edge of the garden, seeing clouds drifting waveringly as thoroughly described by his briefing tablet, with the Fizzy Bubbles description of his chosen location at the top of the Astoria section.

Breathing in new, unfamiliar scents, he climbs off the towering rainbow ladder and trots off to look for a nice batch of rainbow flowers to be pikced, as he also aspired to start a collection of valuable and indispensable memories and experiences which in his mind's condition, would be easily lost among the narrow shifting corridors forming a labyrinth in his memory. And only his scrapbook would save those experience and light the way back down his old time. He also thought of observing those flowers and experimenting with them back home.

But He would never know what would happen to him after plucking their buds and stems, yet he took the risk and tried looking around for them and picking them if he ever found any despite the warning thoughts swarming the part of his consciousness which controlled his movement, coming from his conscious reasoning.

Named after the odd shape of the mountain which from a distance resembles an eagle's head, Mt.Eyrie was feared by many ancient tribes who once dwelled in the forest. Because no humans ever set foot upon the mountain, Eyrie Peak has become a haven for bird Pokémon who have made it their nesting ground. Because of this, the recent influx of tourists in the vicinity have their sights set upon this area, specifically in the hope of finding some of the rarer Pokémon in the land. Be warned, the Pokémon nesting here are likely to be fierce and will protect their babies at all costs.

Posy Field: An area of mountainside filled with many apricorn trees, berry plants, rare herbs and flowers. The strong scents have attracted many bug Pokémon who like to feed on the vast range of delicious nectars in the vicinity.

"Wow, look at all this!" Megh exclaimed as she broke into a run, dashing over acres of flowers and plants of all shapes, sizes, colours and smells. Jake the Meowth scurried along behind her, prancing to and fro to smell all the smells.
"Right, then, let's set up."
Megh carefully selected a sunny, cozy spot to roll out the picnic blanket. Jake busied himself by stuffing various berries into his mouth before joining his trainer. "You look like a Patrat," she remarked. Jake swallowed the berries with a great gulp, and promptly began rummaging through the picnic basket. "Bottomless pit," Megh muttered as she pulled a book from her backpack and lay down on her stomach to read. It was so peaceful and serene, even Jake couldn't resist curling up next to her. "Ahh..." Megh sighed as a warm, relaxed feeling washed over her. The sun felt so nice.
~
"Meowth..." Jake mumbled in his sleep, rolling over to expose his belly.
"Ah, must be having a nice dream, hm?" Megh mused.
Only when a group of bugs fluttered past did she remember why she'd planned this picnic in the first place. "Oh, yeah! We were gonna go bug catching!" She slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Jake?" She poked her Meowth in the tummy, who grudgingly stood up and followed his Trainer through the sweet-smelling expanse, on the hunt.

Jak's Astoria Update #01

As you can see there have been some changes to Astoria. Uhhhhh, Dark Searchman, and I are all updators. Together we've split up those who have been previously updated, and those who have not. My goal is to get updates posted once a week on Thursdays or Fridays. So the sooner you reply, the more often you'll be updated. I'll use a mixture of quick, rapid-fire type updates and something with a little more meat to it depending on where you are, and hopefully you'll end up with a good story. Please remember to use size 1 font and lime green text color. Also please remember to link your stats in your replies unless it's in your sig.

The Island

~Island Ports~

Mon1010: Not only were you looking for a nice stroll through town, but instead you found yourself getting immersed in a theft. A Teddiursa, carrying a jar, knocked you and your dream-eating friend over as it escaped its pursuers. After getting up and dusting yourself off, you and Shaana approached the two tired men.

"Excuse me. Did you say something about a thief?" you asked.

The two men slowly stand up. "Why didn't you go after it?" one man asked a little impatiently. He was still a little out of breath. "That Teddiursa just made off with our last jar of Rawst Berry Balm. It's an effective cure for burns that both humans and Pokemon can use."

"This is another in a series of thefts from our shop," the other man explained. "Why just last week a Meowth broke in and stole a jar," he looked from you to the other man. "I don't know what's going on, but my guess is there is a Pokemon in the woods by the Forest Lodge to the west of here burning the forest dwellers. At least, the thieves seem to be heading west when they run out."

"It would be great if something could be done about that. We're unable to go out there ourselves; both of us can't leave the shop. It's bad enough Eric is going to have to make a trip now to Intado's Village to get more Balm to replace what was lost." He pointed to Eric. "Yes, he's Eric, my business partner and brother. I'm Frank Johnson. We run Johnson & Johnson's Pharmacy a little ways down the road."

"Hey Frank, we should get back to the shop before anyone else rips us off," Eric said turning away. "Plus I have to get ready for my journey to the Village."

Frank looked back at you. "If you know anyone who could help catch that thief, we'd really appreciate it. I'll be back at the shop." Frank turned and joined Eric walking away.

While deciding what your next step will be, you're shocked to hear a woman yelling with a panicked voice, "Stop that Teddiursa! We've just been robbed!"

You quickly spun around to see another Teddiursa run away, holding what looked like a tub of Moo Moo Ice Cream heading west. It seems this port city is getting picked apart by a pack of Pick-Uppers.

What will you do?
------------------------------------------------------

~The Lakes~

TutorX: In your haste to get out of town to have your first adventure, you find yourself lost by a lake surrounded by trees. It doesn't bother you much though. It was what you always wanted, to be on a journey by yourself. At this point, you take a red and white sphere out and click it open. With a click and flash of white light, a little white and green Pokemon appears in front of you ready for adventure. Zoomer, your Ralts, notices how nervous you become as you look around. You notice the lake in front of you, clear and blue. Surrounding the lake, mostly, are trees of varying heights and species. Straight ahead and to your right you see a small path.

You approach the lake now as you continue to take in the scenery and get on your knees to drink some of the water. The water is cool as it fills your cupped hands. It refreshes you, making you realize that the sprint out of town took a lot of energy out of you. Zoomer walks over beside you and watches you. He decides to stick his hand in the water like you, but pulls it out quickly. It must be too cold for Zoomer. You giggle at Ralts' reaction, and then you hear some rustling in the woods off to your left. Out of the woods you see a pink and white creature walk towards the lake. It bends down to drink some water, and you see the yellow flower on its head.

You watch the Deerling for another moment as it drinks peacefully. All of a sudden, the wind picks up, and a gust of wind blows something puffy out of the woods. The Jumpluff looks like it's out of control as it rides the wind. As if seeing it all happen in slow motion, the Jumpluff collides with the Deerling and knocks it into the lake. The Deerling splashes about, thrashing its legs and crying out loud. The water can't be too deep where it is, but it's obvious the deer is panicked. The Deerling's floundering seems to have attracted some more company, as you see a spiky white dorsal fin breach the surface of the lake and begin to swim towards the commotion. As it gets closer to the Deerling, more and more of it surfaces until you can make out that it's a Blue-Striped Basculin. The Basculin appears very interested in that Deerling, perhaps it's hungry. It seems like things are starting to get intense.

What will you do?
------------------------------------------------------

The Divine Woodland

~Magus Falls~

uhhhhh: After looking around the area, you decide the Falls is a great place to take some photos. You aim your camera at the base of the waterfall, but you decide that it won't be a great shot. Looking around again, you settle on a spot with a rock on the shore of the river a little ways downstream from the Falls. Again, you decide this shot isn't worth your time. Looking some more you spot a tree with beautiful foilage, but you decide against it because it's too far away. You see some mist coming off the Falls, but it's too close to you. The flower bush you see next is too leafy. You turn yourself around so much you wind up looking upside-down looking for the waterfall.

All the while, Gaspard is frolicking about having a great time, even snickering at you. After a few hours of no great inspiration, you put your camera away and wonder if you should move on to a different location. All of a sudden you hear a deep, loud buzzing noise. You look over and see a very large bug. After Dex'ing it you realize this Yanmega is much larger than the normal Ogre Darner. Struck with inspiration, you think what a great photo this would make, but Gaspard is having none of it! Gaspard convinces you that the Yanmega is most likely hungry and running is the best course of action.

You and Gaspard turn and hightail it out of there, and the Yanmega gives chase. It lets out a loud, "YANNNN!" as it buzzes after you. All of a sudden, the Yanmega's wings glow white, and it fires off a Sonicboom at you. The wave of energy flies over your head and off to the right. It collides with a tree, and you see that an attack from such a large Pokemon completely obliterates the tree. You are both able to dodge the large chunks of tree that fly your way with ease. Looking back at the Yanmega, you find yourself still itching with inspriation.

What wil you do?
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Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~

Celebii151: Approaching Adventure Path, you pause for a moment to take in the sights. Before you is Eyrie Peak and all its splendor casting its shadow on you. Behind you, you can see some of the trees in the surrounding forest. It’s a beautiful day, although, it’s a touch on the warm side. There is not a cloud in the sky, so the shade is refreshing after your hike to the Path.

You decide, on this trip, to let your newly acquired Poochyena out to stretch her legs. Happy to see her master, Valerius hops into your arms and gives you an appreciative kiss on the cheek. Looking around at all of this open space, she leaps from your arms and begins to run around playfully. For a little while you watch her being the happy puppy bursting with energy that she is. The thought of playing fetch with her crosses your mind, but it is instantly interrupted when Valerius trips on a rock. Eager for revenge on the rock, she fires off a stream of spinning yellow stars on it. Being a rock, the Swift attack did not much else other than appease Valerius.

Just as you both decide to continue your journey, a small brown bunny pops out of a nearby bush. The fluffy-eared bunny hops over to Valerius and inspects her, all the while, giggling bashfully. Once it determines you don’t mean it any harm, the Buneary bats its eyes at Valerius and blows her a kiss. Little pink hearts emanate from Buneary’s mouth and surround Valerius. They all spin for a bit before dissipating, and from the look on Valerius’ face (heart-shaped eyes and tongue hanging out), she’s pretty attracted to the Buneary. Buneary giggles once more before hopping off.

Valerius shakes off the attraction effects and immediately begins to chase Buneary. The bunny leads the Bite Pokémon down a nearby hill and into a wooded area. You, of course, also chase Valerius into the wooded area. Dodging trees along the way, you manage to catch up with Valerius, who is still pursuing Buneary. At some point you both cross through a large gap in a fence, as if it was an unfinished portion. When you finally convince Valerius to stop running, you look around. The clear blue skies are now only poking through the green, leafy ceiling of the woods.

You’ve managed to leave openness of the path and enter the woods due to chasing a Buneary, who seems to have disappeared from Valerius’ view. What will you do?
---------------------------------------------------

myahoo: As you seek to aim to new heights while journeying along Adventure Path, you fall flat off the side of the cliff. Looking up at the cliff where you fell, you realize that path is now inaccessible.

You reach over to a bluish-purple spot on your leg and scream in pain once your hand makes contact. Wildfire gets your attention by nudging you. He shows you a branch that you possibly could use as a crutch, but the branch may be a bit further away than you'd like. Searching the immediate area yields a large rock, the same rock that broke your fall and possibly your leg or ankle you surmise. Using the rock, you are able to get back on your feet, putting your weight on your good leg.

Judging by the time of day, you decide that it may be best to find somewhere to get your leg looked at; but you also see storm clouds gathering in your area. The large grey clouds above are signaling to you that a particularly heavy storm will begin in the near future. You begin to hear thunder rumbling in the distance. You start looking around for some form of shelter, also asking Wildfire to help look.

You hobble over to that branch Wildfire found for you, and with a little finesse you are able to claim it as your own to help you walk. You turn your attention back to the mountain and begin walking along your new path, all the while, keeping an eye on the path to avoid further tumbles. The wind begins to pick up a little indicating the impending storm is getting closer. The thunder now gets a little louder. You try your best to hasten your search but make sure you don't injure yourself further.

All of a sudden you hear Wildfire squeal out. You look to him, and he's pointing towards the mountain. You make out an opening and instantly change your course heading for the cave. Finding the cave was perfect timing as you start to feel raindrops sporadically hitting you and dotting the ground. You just enter the cave protecting you from the rain that's falling steadier now and peer inside. You don't find any unsuspecting Pokemon in the cave, so you decide to move a little further in. As you move in, the cave gets darker; the lack of light outside due to the storm doesn't help matters.

Sufficiently inside, you find a flat rock you can rest on. After a few moments, you hear what sounds like chirping coming from further in the cave. The chirps sound a little frantic, almost panicky. It sounds like you and Wildfire are not alone. Due to the storm outside, which is now pouring rain and blustery winds with some rumbles of thunder, you are pretty much stuck inside to ride it out.

What will you do?
------------------------------------------------------

The Mystic Jungle

~Waterfall Valley~

myrrh: After enjoying the view from atop the waterfall, you decide it's now time to get down. The thought of catching a new Pokemon or finding something as equally valuable. You are faced with two different paths. To the left, you see a crudely made path that leads to a system of caves. To the right, the great chance of death, or something just as bad. Your thoughts of self-preservation dictate that you should go left.

You and Volts begin walking to the left, to the nearby cave. Still as hyper as ever, Volts continues to lead the way and enters the cave first. You cautiously follow. As you enter the cave, the light begins to fade. Most of the sound, aside from the occasional dripping of water, is drowned out by the rushing sound of the falls on the outside of the cave. You lose your footing on the wet cave floor, but you manage to stay standing. Although you can't see Volts too easily in the darkening cave, you can hear him making noise as he explores the cave.

Eventually the two of you come to what appears to be a fork in the cave. From what you can make out with the little light available to you, the path to the right seems to show signs of light. The path to the left seems to go further into the mountain.

Given another choice of paths, which will you choose?
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The Lost Tribes

~The Wicca~

Golden Mew: On a whim, you decided to change your trip to research your dissertation from a colder climate to this tropical one thanks to some stories you heard at a pub in town. Now as you walk through the Enchanted Forest in search of the Wicca, you wonder if you made the right choice choosing this heat over cooler temperatures. Even in a forest that's keeps you consistently covered in shade, you were feeling quite uncomfortable from the heat and humidity. Mangrove seemed happy; she loves this climate. After a few hours of walking, you stop and rest. You take a sandwich and a cool bottle of water out of your bag before you sit on it to stay clean.

While you nourish yourself, you think about why you chose to study the Wicca Tribe. You were amazed by their culture, how they don't use Pokemon to battle, instead they were at peace with each other. It was something you had never imagined was possible in the world. Luckily you were able to find some bits of information from the locals and even some of your professors. You were told they live in the western area of the forest, which is the exact direction you went when you entered the forest.

Once you finished your sandwich, you decide it was time to return to your search. You signal to Mangrove to follow and ask her to keep an eye open for anything out of the ordinary. Roughly another hour more of walking, and Mangrove nibbling on nearby leaves, you come to a clearing. You see a crudely made fence, which runs from your right many yards to your left also many yards. You don't see much on the other side of the fence, mostly an open field with a small portion of the forest included and the same style of fence on the far end. Deciding someone had built this fence, you go left looking, hoping you find out who built the fence.

No sooner than you finish that thought, you see what looks like a point starting to get larger and triangular. As you get closer to it, you realize you're looking at a pair of tee pees. With your focus on the tee pees, you forget about what's in front of you and walk into a fence post. All of a sudden you hear something grunting in front of you. You look and see a bull, a few yards in front of you, dragging a hoof on the ground, getting ready to charge. The Tauros moos loudly, as if he's giving a warning.

That Tauros, about to charge, appears to be a threat, but he's behind a fence. Should you run away? You also found some tee pees. They could be worth checking out. What will you do?

Named after the odd shape of the mountain which from a distance resembles an eagle's head, Mt.Eyrie was feared by many ancient tribes who once dwelled in the forest. Because no humans ever set foot upon the mountain, Eyrie Peak has become a haven for bird Pokémon who have made it their nesting ground. Because of this, the recent influx of tourists in the vicinity have their sights set upon this area, specifically in the hope of finding some of the rarer Pokémon in the land. Be warned, the Pokémon nesting here are likely to be fierce and will protect their babies at all costs.

Adventure Path: Bustling with bird’s nests, this long and jagged path seems to spiral up and around the mountain leading to Eyrie Peak. Several caverns cluster the trail, all inhabited by flying types.

Charm continued marching through the jagged path, stopping for a moment to wipe a sweat off his brow and give his legs a rest. He looked to his side to find his trusty Sneasel, Osage, looking as calm, cool, and collected as ever. Charm merely sat down on a decently big stone, reaching into his backpack to pull out a bottle of water. After taking a few gulps he looked to his companion once again.

"Here, you should have some too," he offered. Osage merely looked away, such a travel is apparently nothing for this Sneasel.

"Well, suit yourself," Charm took a couple more sips. "We might run into some bird pokemon here, so stay alert. I know we haven't had a chance to get to know each other since the trade, but here's our chance." The thought of running into new opponents seemed to raise the Sneasel's attention, but he seems disinterested in learning to bond with his new trainer. Charm gave a slight frown and continued, "Anyways, we should keep moving. Those bird pokemon aren't going to catch themselves," Charm said, rising from the boulder before continuing to hike along the Adventure Path with Osage steadily following.

myrrh: After enjoying the view from atop the waterfall, you decide it's now time to get down. The thought of catching a new Pokemon or finding something as equally valuable. You are faced with two different paths. To the left, you see a crudely made path that leads to a system of caves. To the right, the great chance of death, or something just as bad. Your thoughts of self-preservation dictate that you should go left.

You and Volts begin walking to the left, to the nearby cave. Still as hyper as ever, Volts continues to lead the way and enters the cave first. You cautiously follow. As you enter the cave, the light begins to fade. Most of the sound, aside from the occasional dripping of water, is drowned out by the rushing sound of the falls on the outside of the cave. You lose your footing on the wet cave floor, but you manage to stay standing. Although you can't see Volts too easily in the darkening cave, you can hear him making noise as he explores the cave.

Eventually the two of you come to what appears to be a fork in the cave. From what you can make out with the little light available to you, the path to the right seems to show signs of light. The path to the left seems to go further into the mountain.

Given another choice of paths, which will you choose?
----------------------------------------------------------

"You're lucky you are so small and close to the ground Volts. You can't get hurt very badly if you slip and fall like the way I nearly am over here. Why are you stopin-oh, another fork huh. Well, I let you lead the way into the falls, then I chose to go here back at the other fork, so I guess it's your turn again buddy. Which way should we go?"

Again Volts went back and forth between the choices and couldn't seem to decide where to go. After a little while the pokrmon finally decided that they should go left.

"So we aren't going towards the light then? That's okay I guess, we went left last time and that didn't seem to bad. Let's go." Volts was already starting to lead the way midway through Myrrh's sentence. Off they went further into the mountain...

Celebii151: Approaching Adventure Path, you pause for a moment to take in the sights. Before you is Eyrie Peak and all its splendor casting its shadow on you. Behind you, you can see some of the trees in the surrounding forest. It’s a beautiful day, although, it’s a touch on the warm side. There is not a cloud in the sky, so the shade is refreshing after your hike to the Path.

You decide, on this trip, to let your newly acquired Poochyena out to stretch her legs. Happy to see her master, Valerius hops into your arms and gives you an appreciative kiss on the cheek. Looking around at all of this open space, she leaps from your arms and begins to run around playfully. For a little while you watch her being the happy puppy bursting with energy that she is. The thought of playing fetch with her crosses your mind, but it is instantly interrupted when Valerius trips on a rock. Eager for revenge on the rock, she fires off a stream of spinning yellow stars on it. Being a rock, the Swift attack did not much else other than appease Valerius.

Just as you both decide to continue your journey, a small brown bunny pops out of a nearby bush. The fluffy-eared bunny hops over to Valerius and inspects her, all the while, giggling bashfully. Once it determines you don’t mean it any harm, the Buneary bats its eyes at Valerius and blows her a kiss. Little pink hearts emanate from Buneary’s mouth and surround Valerius. They all spin for a bit before dissipating, and from the look on Valerius’ face (heart-shaped eyes and tongue hanging out), she’s pretty attracted to the Buneary. Buneary giggles once more before hopping off.

Valerius shakes off the attraction effects and immediately begins to chase Buneary. The bunny leads the Bite Pokémon down a nearby hill and into a wooded area. You, of course, also chase Valerius into the wooded area. Dodging trees along the way, you manage to catch up with Valerius, who is still pursuing Buneary. At some point you both cross through a large gap in a fence, as if it was an unfinished portion. When you finally convince Valerius to stop running, you look around. The clear blue skies are now only poking through the green, leafy ceiling of the woods.

You’ve managed to leave openness of the path and enter the woods due to chasing a Buneary, who seems to have disappeared from Valerius’ view. What will you do?

Just beginning his adventure in Eyrie Peak, Cele witnessed Valerius attack a rock for some strange reason. Cele laughed a bit at this before heading out. It wasn't long before a bipedal rabbit-like creature hopped up in front of them, trying to Attract Valerius, the move ending in success, confirming the Buneary as a male. Cele quickly grabbed his blue and silver Pokedex and looked up Buneary. The Pokedex began to talk in a nasal tone, Buneary, the Rabbit Pokémon. Its ears are always rolled up. They can be forcefully extended to shatter even a large boulder. "Whoa, this cute, harmless little thing can smash boulders? Interesting." Buneary giggled and hopped off into the distance, Valerius in hot pursuit of the Rabbit Pokemon. Eventually, they ended up in a forest, with the Buneary nowhere in sight. Valerius looked around hopefully, thinking that she might have a chance of finding it. Realizing that the Buneary was gone, she growled angrily. "Val, according to the 'Dex, Buneary can have the ability Run Away. Plus, this is Buneary's home turf, there's no hope of finding it now. In the meantime, maybe we should explore more of this forest..."

The Enchanted Forest is a special place of magic and mystery. It is said this island was created by witches many centuries ago and that powerful magic still emanates from deep within the island itself. Stories abound of a race of magical beings who lived in harmony for many centuries before a great war erupted between good and evil forces which eventuated in the almost complete annihilation of all life in the vicinity. Those who survived are said to have exhausted the remainder of their magic casting regenerative spells upon the land before leaving Astoria to allow the island to rejuvenate itself. Now, centuries later, life has returned to the island. All but one area has flourished, Pokémon have returned, and humans have once again set foot upon its shores. The amazing regenerative powers of this island have led many an adventurer to enter the forest in hopes of unlocking the mysteries within, but few have ever returned. What has become of them is anyone's guess, but of those who have come back all appear to have sworn some kind of secret oath to never reveal anything of what they have learned. This air of secrecy has only served to make people more curious, however, and as a result tourism has flourished in recent years. People are now arriving by the dozen on a daily basis to inject this once tranquil forest with new and vibrant life. Whether the forest is welcoming of this change is another matter, though time will surely tell...

The Divine Woodland

The Divine Woodland makes up a good 90% of the Enchanted Forest. Normally a very peaceful place where grass, bug and flying Pokémon thrive, the recent boom in tourism has caused the Pokémon who live here to be more cautious of the humans who have begun to invade their natural habitat. There are rumours of strange and magical happenings in this forest and on special nights, under the light of the full moon, who knows what you may encounter...

Areas:Magus Falls: A lush green area with a large waterfall that overlooks much of the Divine Woodland. You may try riding the rapids to reach the river below but most choose to take the safer option of strolling along one of the forest trails. Very scenic, your chances of running into wild Pokémon here are high as they flock to the area for access to the nearby freshwater lake. A nice spot for a picnic, or just to pass some time.

Stunning.

Levin had travelled a bit by now. His journeys had taken him through dense forests, freezing glaciers, lively commerce ports... but Magus Falls was the most impressive sight he had laid eyes on yet. He could only imagine how much more impressive it would be gazing up from the river below, but he wouldn't risk going through the rapids to find out sooner. Well, it had crossed his mind, but Minccino looked at him with that unmistakable stare that read "don't even think about it".

I have to admit she's right, though. I don't have any Pokémon that can use Surf, so manoeuvring through the rapids would be suicide. And the whole team feels more comfortable fighting on firm ground... Well, I think. Gible and Elekid haven't even had their first battle yet, they're newborns.

With that, he had opted to make his way through the trail that ran alongside the rapids, through a lush forest created by the ever clean, running water. The atmosphere was pleasant, and for a change, just walking around and exploring without destination gave him a sense of genuine freedom that he hadn't felt in a while.
Life's good.

Adventures in Astoria by Dark Searchman, Part 1

All right! I bid my group welcome to Astoria, whose mountains and trees provide a sense of adventure and a wealth of magical wonders! Now that Jolteonjak has posted for his group, I figure I might as well pop in and begin more adventures in addition to continuing some adventures Fishyfool started. Most likely I will update weekly, but if you reply often I may update more often. My updates will vary in length depending on how much you give me to work with and how much I feel you need to know. Some may be more of a rapid-fire length while others may have more to it. Should you find yourself excluded from Jolt's group and mine, know that your fate belongs to our third updater, Uhhhhh. He is working on your updates as I speak, so just sit tight a little longer!

Now for the all important rules:
-Please reply in size 1 limegreen font as is standard for this zone.
-Please have a link to your stats either in your signature or somewhere in your post.
-Any items you use in your replies, including potions and Pokeballs, should have a link to the post where you obtained them. Also, please state which item it is; for example, if it is the fourth Pokeball out of five, you would add a (4/5) next to the item.
-Please bold any attacks you have your Pokemon use, so it's easier for me to see the attacks being used. You may use up to three attacks; using items takes up one round, but a held item can activate
-Follow FB rules, as usual.
-Most importantly, have fun!

So with that out of the way, strap yourselves in and hang on!

The Divine Woodland

Magus Falls

Nerubi – {You went a little too far in your reply when saying you saved Petilil, so I'm backtracking to make things more interesting. For future reference, it's often best to reply with your immediate reaction to something that happens. For example, in your case, I would've finished my reply by saying that Wyu swam out to save Petilil, then I would wait for my updater to tell me what happens. You never know when a situation can change, and your character is about to learn that lesson in spades... >=D }

After coming from so far away to the beautiful Magus Falls, you simply wanted to relax and take in the scenery while you watched Wyu play around in the water. A Petilil wanted to do that very same thing too, but… well, since they only weigh about 14 lbs. on average, they can be caught up in a breeze pretty easily. Not as easily as a Cottonee or a Hoppip can, but enough so there’s the chance of them ending up in a rough situation like this one was. And even though the pool it landed in was only about two feet deep, you could tell it was in danger of drowning, so you decide to rescue the poor Grass-type. Since Wyu was closer, you tell him to swim up to the Bulb Pokemon and bring it out of the water.

However, you and Wyu were not the only ones to notice the peril of the Petilil. All that splashing and flailing it did had attracted a predator. As you oversee the rescue, you notice a dark shadow come down the river and into the pool. Just before Wyu got to Petilil, you both see the gaping mouth of a Whiscash come up to the surface, engulf the helpless Pokemon’s face, and return to the water. As if Petilil wasn’t in enough danger already! Thankfully, the water was clear so you could see the Whiskers Pokemon at the end of the pool, but you had to act fast if you wanted to save Petilil!

What will Samidare do?

InnerFlame – {Normally I'd ask you to link your Potion to the post where you obtained it, but I'm circumventing it anyway, so I'll overlook it this time.}

Forests like this can be very peaceful… except when a rampaging Metagross comes in to wreck the mood. This one dealt a heavy blow to a Nidoking before moving on, while all you and Charm could do was hide behind a log and watch, holding back a few screams so you wouldn’t be discovered by the Steel-type. When you knew Metagross was gone, you figured you had to do what you could, even if it was small, to help this poor Nidoking. As you approach the Nidoking, you see a male Nidoran come out of the bushes, worried about his father. He sees you and growls at you in addition to the Nidoking glaring and growling at you, the latter being more dangerous and more likely to do something unpredictable, especially now that one of his children was there. You try to assure them that your intentions are good as you hold your hands up with one of them holding a Potion, but as you move closer, you suddenly hear someone shout, “No!! Don’t touch it!!”

You turn to see a man dressed in a green jacket and khakis accompanied by a Slowking. Both of them run towards you and the distressed Nidoking while the man says, “Nidoking have an ability called Poison Point; if you touch one, you risk getting poisoned!” They finally reach your position as the man continues, “Besides, that Potion of yours won’t help much on it.” He turns to his partner and says, “Slowking, use Heal Pulse.” The Royal Pokemon nods and channels green energy out of his hands and into Nidoking, healing it and calming the Poison-type down while his son watched, still worried. While the Slowking was healing the Nidoking, the man approaches you with a smile, saying, “I can appreciate what you were doing, it was very noble of you, but everything’s going to be fine now. My name’s Willis, and I’m a Pokemon Ranger around these parts. Now, can you tell me what happened around here?”

What will Inner do?

Thorndrop – {In the future, please state the specific area your character starts off in; otherwise, we updaters won't know where to go with your adventure. I was able to place you in Magus Falls mainly because you specified rapids, but other than that I wouldn't have had a clue where you were.

Also, I'd like to decide whether or not you and Sneasel get separated instead of seeing you two already splitting up and being forced to work from there. I worked with it a little this time, but please be careful about that in the future. Thanks! =) }

Unlike many folks who come to Astoria, you wished to avoid the trap of tourism in favor of starting off your career as a trainer with some excitement. The map in your pocket, you felt, was useless unless you were in a pinch. To start off, you found yourself in some woodlands with the sound of a raging ravine calling your name close by. You took care to step on any thorny bushes in your path so your shoes would be torn to pieces instead of your legs as you come up to an area of whitewater. The mist spraying from the rapids fogged up your glasses, and while jumping in would certainly bring adventure, you thought better of it. Starting things off in a hospital… not a good thing.

You figured your Sneasel would stay behind and wait for you, but when you turned around, you saw that he had followed your example and went off to do his own thing. You call out to him, but, of course, no answer. You start to panic as you wonder where he’d gone off to and return to the trail to look for him. You thought you might’ve seen a flicker of red, but he was nowhere to be seen. After frantically searching for fifteen minutes, you hear multiple caws of “SPEAAAAAAAAAAA!” A few moments later, you see your Sneasel run back up to you looking like he really regretted doing something. And he’s followed by three ticked off birds with red beaks and wings! You look back at Sneasel, and you find bits of egg on his face. Aha! It’s not hard to put two and two together after that! Your Sharp Claw Pokemon must’ve been hungry and, being an egg-eater by instinct, decided that Spearow eggs were a very delectable item on today’s menu. As a result, you have three Tiny Birds that decided revenge is a dish best served a la cold Sneasel meat! Well, this was Sneasel’s mess, and it was up to you to help clean it up somehow.

What will Elliot do?

Eyrie Peak

Adventure Path

Flame Mistress –

It was nighttime on Adventure Path, and you were sitting at the edge of a cavern hoping to find a Murkrow flying around or a Vullaby walk by, but all the birds you saw were everything but Murkrow and Vullaby, and you started to get discouraged. Little did you know that you were sitting in the same cavern where a Skarmory was nesting. It looked a little too sleepy to want to pick a fight with you and Flare, so it used its wing to show you the door, and it was willing to call it good from there. Flare, however, looked at Skarmory and… maybe she wanted to play with it, but for some reason she spit some Embers straight into the Steel-type’s face. You tried to stop Flare, but it was too late, and so you covered your face because you were expecting Skarmory to be furious. It didn’t get burnt, nor did it go into full-on attack mode like you thought it would, but it was waking up and losing patience. It Leered at your Vulpix, saying “Skarr Skarrrrrr…” probably telling her it was willing to give you two one last chance to leave; otherwise, it would probably show you no mercy.

What will Charlotte do?

Posy Field

Son_of_Shadows –

This was supposed to be a picnic for you and Bishop, not for a cheeky little Karrablast! You took some quality time to prepare your sandwiches, and after having your delicious food stolen and hearing some stifled giggles of quite a few onlookers, you were determined to track this bug down and get your food back. Karrablast certainly wasn’t going to make it easy as you lost it in the midst of some bushes. However, you order Bishop to use Foresight, and, through his enhanced vision, he’s able to spot the Clamping Pokemon in the middle of the bushes, ready to guard its- sorry, I mean your lunch if it needed to. Bishop jumps in, but Karrablast was ready for it as it Leered straight at your Hoothoot; this was Karrablast’s lunch that it stole, and it wasn’t about to share with anyone else. Bishop thought twice for a second and lowered its defenses, but it continued your orders and returned the Leer attack Karrablast gave with a more… Hypnotic stare. Unfortunately, the bug Pokemon didn’t really find it mesmerizing and moved in to attack, its horn Pecking into Bishop’s side which caused Bishop to hoot in pain and jump back out of the bushes. Seems like this bug is not only cheeky, but feisty too! It didn’t look like it caused a lot of damage, but with Bishop’s lowered defenses you wouldn’t want this battle to get too physical.

What will Joshua do?

Jolteonjak –

Boy, was it worth climbing this mountain! You and your Cyndaquil agreed that Posy Field was a little piece of heaven for trainer and Pokemon alike. Flowers, berries, apricorns, all sorts of plants grew here. Of course, you felt that the refreshing mountain air alone made this place worthwhile. You weren't the only one, of course; Posy Field was a popular spot for picnics and bug catching, though today this place wasn't nearly as populated as it could be. After checking on Cyndaquil to make sure he wouldn’t wander too far off or get himself into some other kind of trouble, you decide this would be a great place to relax; maybe some of those apricorns would be ripe for the picking when you woke up.

About an hour or two later, you wake up to your Cyndaquil poking you, and you see a Teddiursa in the direction Cyndaquil’s pointing to. “Ursa!” the cute Little Bear says to you, then it runs into the midst of the trees, stopping to wave its hand to you with an "Urr saa saa!" Maybe it wants you to follow?

What will Chad do?

Megh –

Posy Field is a really good place for a picnic, and that was what attracted you and Jake. The flowers around here were known for their aromas, and you could see a couple of Bellossom dancing around the meadow, and they knew how to put on a good performance. You weren’t the only one with the idea to have a picnic here; quite a few people from all around Astoria and even from other lands were enjoying the scenery on their own picnic blankets. Once you were finished setting up, your Meowth joins you having stuffed himself with Berries already and was ready for even more food as he stuffed his head into the picnic basket. But, as you start to settle in, Jake decides your company is more important than food and curls up to snuggle with you.

Then some Butterfree fly above, and you recall that you wanted to do some bug catching. With that in mind, you wake up Jake and get yourself ready. As you walk through the meadow, you see more people relaxing in the meadow, a Cyndaquil playing in some bushes, and some people up and about, including a trainer and his Hoothoot focused on some other bushes, but you can’t tell what would be of interest there and move on. You then come across another bushy area and see three different things poking out. One of them looks round and Y-shaped. Another looks like a round ball with a large thorn poking out of it, and then you see two yellow thorns jutting out of another bush. All of them looked extremely out of the ordinary for these bushes… maybe they were Bug Pokemon? If they were, you’d probably be able to only go for one of them before the rest got away... and there was no guarantee they were Bug Pokemon at all. Of course, you could always ignore them; you may be able to find some rarer bugs later on…

What will Megh do?

Garden of Iris

Rainbow Pool

Coolz8 – {In the future, please link to your stats either in your post or your signature so I have easy reference to them. Thanks! =) }

Considered a “heaven” of Astoria, the Garden of Iris is said to reside in the clouds. The air up here isn’t as thin as you thought it would be, the quantity and quality about as good as it was in the forests below. The plethora of scents up here is foreign to anyone who entered here for the first time, and each scent was as pleasing as the next one, bringing you into a roller coaster of nirvana. You barely had any time to enjoy one scent until the next therapeutic scent shoved its way through the one before it, but enjoy each and every scent you did. Your mission: to feast your eyes on the rare rainbow flowers that exist nowhere else and collect a bunch of them, a few to be stored into your scrapbook in an attempt to cement any memories of this place that may slip away from you in the future and maybe more to perform experiments on, if you were fortunate to obtain that many.

As you approach Rainbow Pool, you believe this to be a likely spot to find these colorful flowers. So far, however, you see every flower but the rainbow flower you desire. Still, the flowers here are pretty unique, so you decide to pick a few of them so you at least don’t leave empty-handed should you fail in your quest. But, when you try to pick a red rose with a blue rose next to it, you hear a cry come from it, then some Powdery substance shoot from it. Your reaction is to try to hold your breath, but it’s… *yawns* too late, as you… find yourself… *yawns again* oh dear, excuse me… very Sleepy. Maybe… it’s fine… to just… take a… nmmm… zzzzzzzzzzz…

…

Hm? Oh man, I’m sorry, I must’ve dozed off! Anyway, you wake up in a warm, cozy bed inside a log cabin. You see a beautiful girl sitting at the bedside, and she notices you waking up and says softly, “Oh, um, you’re awake! I’m sorry, I saw you put to sleep by a Roselia, and I couldn’t just leave you there, so I had my Ludicolo bring you here…” The Ludicolo waves at you and says, “Colo!” You notice your rescuer looking down at the floor holding her hands together.

Posy Field is a really good place for a picnic, and that was what attracted you and Jake. The flowers around here were known for their aromas, and you could see a couple of Bellossom dancing around the meadow, and they knew how to put on a good performance. You weren’t the only one with the idea to have a picnic here; quite a few people from all around Astoria and even from other lands were enjoying the scenery on their own picnic blankets. Once you were finished setting up, your Meowth joins you having stuffed himself with Berries already and was ready for even more food as he stuffed his head into the picnic basket. But, as you start to settle in, Jake decides your company is more important than food and curls up to snuggle with you.

Then some Butterfree fly above, and you recall that you wanted to do some bug catching. With that in mind, you wake up Jake and get yourself ready. As you walk through the meadow, you see more people relaxing in the meadow, a Cyndaquil playing in some bushes, and some people up and about, including a trainer and his Hoothoot focused on some other bushes, but you can’t tell what would be of interest there and move on. You then come across another bushy area and see three different things poking out. One of them looks round and Y-shaped. Another looks like a round ball with a large thorn poking out of it, and then you see two yellow thorns jutting out of another bush. All of them looked extremely out of the ordinary for these bushes… maybe they were Bug Pokemon? If they were, you’d probably be able to only go for one of them before the rest got away... and there was no guarantee they were Bug Pokemon at all. Of course, you could always ignore them; you may be able to find some rarer bugs later on…

What will Megh do?

"Hmm..." says Megh. It would be nice to have some rarer bugs, but with her impatient nature, Megh decides to try for one of the mysterious bush-dwellers. "Jake," she whispers, as to not scare them away, "surprise them with a Growl, then open up with a Bite on the Y-shaped one. But be sneaky, make sure you're in close enough before Growling, so you can catch it if it runs. Ready?" Jake nods, eager to battle and stretch his legs after a nice meal and nap. "Okay." She reaches into her Bag and produces a Pokeball, the first of two. Adrenaline rushes through her veins. Her first battle! Her first step on the way to becoming a Pokemon Master! She can hardly surpress a huge grin as she instructs Jake, "Now!"

The little cat slinks over to the edge of the bushes on his belly, hissing softly, his whiskers tingling. Megh tightens her grip on the Ball. What if something goes wrong? What if Jake gets beaten? What- She shakes her head, clearing the bad thoughts. Win or lose, this would certainly be a battle to remember. Her arm muscles tighten, getting ready to throw the ball. "OK, Jake, go!"
Jake rears up on his back legs, spitting and hissing, before emitting one hell of a Growl, that even manages to turn some Trainers' heads. Megh bites her lower lip, pondering the outcome of the fight...

Coolz8 – {In the future, please link to your stats either in your post or your signature so I have easy reference to them. Thanks! =) }

Considered a “heaven” of Astoria, the Garden of Iris is said to reside in the clouds. The air up here isn’t as thin as you thought it would be, the quantity and quality about as good as it was in the forests below. The plethora of scents up here is foreign to anyone who entered here for the first time, and each scent was as pleasing as the next one, bringing you into a roller coaster of nirvana. You barely had any time to enjoy one scent until the next therapeutic scent shoved its way through the one before it, but enjoy each and every scent you did. Your mission: to feast your eyes on the rare rainbow flowers that exist nowhere else and collect a bunch of them, a few to be stored into your scrapbook in an attempt to cement any memories of this place that may slip away from you in the future and maybe more to perform experiments on, if you were fortunate to obtain that many.

As you approach Rainbow Pool, you believe this to be a likely spot to find these colorful flowers. So far, however, you see every flower but the rainbow flower you desire. Still, the flowers here are pretty unique, so you decide to pick a few of them so you at least don’t leave empty-handed should you fail in your quest. But, when you try to pick a red rose with a blue rose next to it, you hear a cry come from it, then some Powdery substance shoot from it. Your reaction is to try to hold your breath, but it’s… *yawns* too late, as you… find yourself… *yawns again* oh dear, excuse me… very Sleepy. Maybe… it’s fine… to just… take a… nmmm… zzzzzzzzzzz…

…

Hm? Oh man, I’m sorry, I must’ve dozed off! Anyway, you wake up in a warm, cozy bed inside a log cabin. You see a beautiful girl sitting at the bedside, and she notices you waking up and says softly, “Oh, um, you’re awake! I’m sorry, I saw you put to sleep by a Roselia, and I couldn’t just leave you there, so I had my Ludicolo bring you here…” The Ludicolo waves at you and says, “Colo!” You notice your rescuer looking down at the floor holding her hands together.

Frinth carefully checks his pack, and turns to the beautiful girl sitting beside his bed. A slight blush flowed beneath his face. "Thank you for tending to me. I'm sorry if I put you through some trouble while I was asleep. May I ask how long I was out?" A slight tremble in his voice could have been noticed by anyone keen enough to accomplish such an observation.

He rubs the head of the ludicolo and asks a second question, "May I also... Ask Why you are a bit down?" and he sat up, placing his hand out ahead of him.

TutorX: In your haste to get out of town to have your first adventure, you find yourself lost by a lake surrounded by trees. It doesn't bother you much though. It was what you always wanted, to be on a journey by yourself. At this point, you take a red and white sphere out and click it open. With a click and flash of white light, a little white and green Pokemon appears in front of you ready for adventure. Zoomer, your Ralts, notices how nervous you become as you look around. You notice the lake in front of you, clear and blue. Surrounding the lake, mostly, are trees of varying heights and species. Straight ahead and to your right you see a small path.

You approach the lake now as you continue to take in the scenery and get on your knees to drink some of the water. The water is cool as it fills your cupped hands. It refreshes you, making you realize that the sprint out of town took a lot of energy out of you. Zoomer walks over beside you and watches you. He decides to stick his hand in the water like you, but pulls it out quickly. It must be too cold for Zoomer. You giggle at Ralts' reaction, and then you hear some rustling in the woods off to your left. Out of the woods you see a pink and white creature walk towards the lake. It bends down to drink some water, and you see the yellow flower on its head.

You watch the Deerling for another moment as it drinks peacefully. All of a sudden, the wind picks up, and a gust of wind blows something puffy out of the woods. The Jumpluff looks like it's out of control as it rides the wind. As if seeing it all happen in slow motion, the Jumpluff collides with the Deerling and knocks it into the lake. The Deerling splashes about, thrashing its legs and crying out loud. The water can't be too deep where it is, but it's obvious the deer is panicked. The Deerling's floundering seems to have attracted some more company, as you see a spiky white dorsal fin breach the surface of the lake and begin to swim towards the commotion. As it gets closer to the Deerling, more and more of it surfaces until you can make out that it's a Blue-Striped Basculin. The Basculin appears very interested in that Deerling, perhaps it's hungry. It seems like things are starting to get intense.

What will you do?

Niles chuckled as Zoomer tried to imitate his actions. Even if the water wasn't too cold for him he had no idea the Ralts would pick up any water without fingers. Niles looks over to his left when he hears something coming from the woods. It looked sort of like a Ponyta covered in leaves. Niles noticed the flower on the head of the creature and wondered who put it on the Pokemon Niles was a bit unnerved by the fact that the four hooved Pokemon wasn't on fire. The grassy Ponyta approached the water and went down for a drink. Niles watched this intrigued by the Pokemon's lack of fear for the big body of water.

Suddenly a giant cotton ball appears and knocks into the Pokemon. The Leafy creature fell into the water and started to panic. 'I knew that thing wasn't safe near water' Niles thought to himself as he kicked off his shoes and jumped into the water. Zoomer sighed, he was used to his trainer ignoring the ease of which these problems could be solved using his help, but he still found it concerning. Niles swam closer to the creature, not noticing how close he was to the ground. He then noticed a blue stripe speeding up to the thrashing horse.

"No! I'm too far!" Niles panicked notice the big gap between him and the Pokemon, and how close the predatorial Pokemon was to it. He started to swim faster, trying to make it first. Zoomer saw this, noticing the danger of Niles rushing at the vicious Pokemon. He knew there was no way this could turn out well if he left Niles to it himself, so he let out a Signal Beam blasted right at the Basculin.

As you can see there have been some changes to Astoria. Uhhhhh, Dark Searchman, and I are all updators. Together we've split up those who have been previously updated, and those who have not. My goal is to get updates posted once a week on Thursdays or Fridays. So the sooner you reply, the more often you'll be updated. I'll use a mixture of quick, rapid-fire type updates and something with a little more meat to it depending on where you are, and hopefully you'll end up with a good story. Please remember to use size 1 font and lime green text color. Also please remember to link your stats in your replies unless it's in your sig.

Eyrie Peak

~Adventure Path~

myahoo: As you seek to aim to new heights while journeying along Adventure Path, you fall flat off the side of the cliff. Looking up at the cliff where you fell, you realize that path is now inaccessible.

You reach over to a bluish-purple spot on your leg and scream in pain once your hand makes contact. Wildfire gets your attention by nudging you. He shows you a branch that you possibly could use as a crutch, but the branch may be a bit further away than you'd like. Searching the immediate area yields a large rock, the same rock that broke your fall and possibly your leg or ankle you surmise. Using the rock, you are able to get back on your feet, putting your weight on your good leg.

Judging by the time of day, you decide that it may be best to find somewhere to get your leg looked at; but you also see storm clouds gathering in your area. The large grey clouds above are signaling to you that a particularly heavy storm will begin in the near future. You begin to hear thunder rumbling in the distance. You start looking around for some form of shelter, also asking Wildfire to help look.

You hobble over to that branch Wildfire found for you, and with a little finesse you are able to claim it as your own to help you walk. You turn your attention back to the mountain and begin walking along your new path, all the while, keeping an eye on the path to avoid further tumbles. The wind begins to pick up a little indicating the impending storm is getting closer. The thunder now gets a little louder. You try your best to hasten your search but make sure you don't injure yourself further.

All of a sudden you hear Wildfire squeal out. You look to him, and he's pointing towards the mountain. You make out an opening and instantly change your course heading for the cave. Finding the cave was perfect timing as you start to feel raindrops sporadically hitting you and dotting the ground. You just enter the cave protecting you from the rain that's falling steadier now and peer inside. You don't find any unsuspecting Pokemon in the cave, so you decide to move a little further in. As you move in, the cave gets darker; the lack of light outside due to the storm doesn't help matters.

Sufficiently inside, you find a flat rock you can rest on. After a few moments, you hear what sounds like chirping coming from further in the cave. The chirps sound a little frantic, almost panicky. It sounds like you and Wildfire are not alone. Due to the storm outside, which is now pouring rain and blustery winds with some rumbles of thunder, you are pretty much stuck inside to ride it out.

What will you do?

Thanks for picking us up, Jolteonjak. And, uh, sorry for the wall of text...? ^^" Anyway, if there's anything I messed up, just say so and I'll edit it, 'kay?

Melissa eventually hobbled over towards the branch Wildfire had indicated and, once she found it sturdy enough to use as a crutch, tucked it under her arm. After a moment to catch her breath, she began to pick her way along the path following the cliff face, eyes scanning the mountain for shelter and the path to avoid anymore tumbles. Her Cyndaquil scampered ahead of her, scanning the mountain face and glancing back every so often to check on his trainer. They continued in this manner for some time, Melissa carefully making her way forward as Wildfire ran ahead, both searching for somewhere to hunker down before the storm caught up to them.

The teen had no idea how much time passed, but, by the time she thought to check for the approaching storm, the wind was already picking up and she could hear the thunder getting louder. She shivered and gripped her makeshift crutch tighter; the wind was sure to make balancing even harder than it had been during the past few hours and she was definitely not looking forward to trying to walk through the storm on a most-likely broken leg.

I really hope we find a place to hide soon, she thought to herself, scanning the path ahead for her starter. There's no way Wildfire will want to stand the rain and the water'll just make this path even more of a danger to me than it already is. Melissa smiled when she spotted the navy of Wildfire's back and hobbled her way towards him. Her smile only grew when he squealed happily, pointing towards an opening in the mountain face.

"Alright! Nice work, Wildfire," she told him, still smiling. "Now let's get in there before the storm catches up to us, yeah?" The Fire-type nodded vehemently, but remained only a few steps ahead of his trainer until the pair reached the cave, though he shifted uneasily when he felt the raindrops hitting his back. The brunette couldn't help sighing in relief herself when they reached the cave; the rain was starting to fall harder just as they entered the cave and she was glad they weren't getting soaked, at least.

The teen paused at the entrance of the cave, a thought just entering her mind. What if there were Pokemon already living in the cave and they had just disturbed them? Glancing at her little fire mouse, she wondered whether he would be able to fight them off in such an enclosed space and then stopped her thoughts before she could imagine him using his Fire attacks in the cave. She did look around warily, before venturing further into their shelter, just to make sure there was nothing obviously living there. It got darker the further they went in though and Melissa paused when her eyes started straining to see.

"Wildfire?" she called, scanning the floor of the cave and trying to figure out where her starter had gone.

"Quil?" He sounded close by, but his voice reassured her, even though she had difficulty seeing him.

"Could you help me out a bit here, buddy?" she asked. There was a whoosh of flames and Melissa squinted a little in the light of the flames blazing from Wildfire's back. The fire mouse blinked up at her from where he sat a few paces ahead of her. "Thanks, Wildfire. C'mon, let's go in a little further."

Nodding in agreement, the Cyndaquil lead the way deeper into the cave. He paused when he passed by a flat rock and turned around, glancing inquisitively between his trainer and the rock. Melissa grinned wryly in response, before easing herself onto the rock and carefully stretching out her possibly-broken leg, gaze drawn to that blue-purple spot on the limb. She had to admit, when she had decided to visit Eyrie Peak, she certainly hadn't been expecting to break her leg during her adventure.

"Well, this has certainly been interesting, hasn't it, Wildfire?" Her voice was tinged with exhaustion from the long walk and from trying not to put weight on her injured leg. She glanced around tiredly to see whether she could lean on anything while they waited for the storm to blow itself out, but Wildfire's lack of response had her turning her attention towards him instead. The Cyndaquil had tilted his head to the side and was peering intently further into the cave. Confused, Melissa stared in the same direction and listened, straining her ears this time to catch whatever sound had caught Wildfire's attention.

It took her a moment, but her eyes widened when she realized what they were hearing: chirps. Panicked chirps. From further in the cave. The teen glanced at her Cyndaquil, who had briefly turned his questioning gaze towards her, and felt torn. On the one hand, it could be a baby bird Pokemon that she would be happy to have. On the other, it could just be a lost baby bird Pokemon looking for its parent. For a moment more, she just listened to its panicked chirps, before she caved.

"Wildfire?" Her trusted friend glanced at her with a "Quil?" She winced as a loud rumble echoed through the cave. "Could you go see what's chirping?" Wildfire immediately nodded, but he waited for her to finish speaking. She sighed heavily, eyes darting towards the chirps, before meeting Wildfire's gaze. "If it's a baby or if it's hurt, see if you can bring it here. If it looks fine, just come back and tell me what it is, 'kay?" He nodded again. "Alright then. Be careful, yeah?" The fire mouse nodded a third time and left, heading towards the chirps. Melissa watched him the entire time, fingers brushing her other Pokeballs in the meantime.